Gangs of Los Angeles
Counting the Iron Guard, there are nine gangs in Los Angeles during the time the Iron Master has been active. At the time of writing, the Nine Rollers and the Goblin Gang are now defunct, and the Iron Guard has absorbed their territory (as well as some of their former members). Turn Order Iron Guard LAPD Goblin Gang Ronin The Family Santos Espada Hounds Stalkers Nine Rollers Chimera Omnus Gangs The Iron Guard is the gang run by the Iron Master, though it is sometimes referred to as the Iron Legion. Although referred to as a gang, they're more like a cross between a mafia and a mercenary group. Their members are typically well-equipped and well-armed as a result of raids on national guard armories and stealing from police stockades so basic bodyarmor and gear typically found on SWAT teams are common. The Iron Guard's demeanour is usually professional as a result of Julio's management as well. In dress they favor gas masks, overt technological parts that make them appear cybernetic (though none of them are actually cyborgs (yet)), and other emblems of SCIENCE! There is some variation among the gang. The Avalon Guard are former Goblin Gangers and still have a tendency towards thuggish behavior and wearing masks, although they now favor tech-y masks rather than Halloween monster masks, and the Dream Boy Legion and Tungsten Guard both used to be Nine Rollers, and thus tend to have a more casual and relaxed attitude than the rest of the gang. The Iron Guard specializes in hookers, though they do not make use of human trafficking. On the one hand most sets of the Iron Guard runs a tight ship even for a legitimate business, and on the other they work hard behind the scenes to shut down as many avenues for traditional employment as possible, thus increasing the number of women desperate enough to come working for them. The Nine Rollers were a gang of drug dealers in Palos Verdes, who were defeated by the Iron Master. Although quite capable of violence, they were a fairly laid back and easygoing gang who typically got along pretty well with the locals, the bulk of their income coming from drug sales. The gang likely would have fallen apart anyway if marijuana were legalized. They controlled the two most profitable sets in the city and kept them well-guarded, and their main strategy for repulsing enemies was to use bribes to encourage betrayal or indifference in their rivals. The Iron Master ultimately defeated them by subverting most of their sets without their noticing, and then overran what was left like lightning. His initial attack did enough damage to the Nine Rollers' income that they weren't able to use their usual tactics and soon folded. The Hounds and Stalkers are basically interchangeable. They're a pack of thugs and arms dealers who work out of Compton and its surrounding areas. They're relatively small and weak strategically, but are very vicious individually. Their high density of combat-focused sets leaves them nearly broke, but their constant rivalry with one another and generally poor leadership means they aren't much of a threat to anyone around them. The city has been dealing with them in one form or another since the 60s. There's no significant difference between the two of them except the colors they wear. The super villain Bouncer has fought for and against both the Hounds and the Stalkers in the past. The Goblin Gang are most noticable for the Halloween masks they wear. They work out of Santa Monica and Westside, primarily as drug dealers who specialize in rave drugs and harder things than the Nines can usually get their hands on. They're also fairly vicious, with the Goblin Gang Hobs in particular being known for savagery before they were eliminated by police response after their terror attack on Hollywood. The Goblin Gang Maniacs, less competent but more likely to fly into a rage and try to kill someone, are still around. The Hollywood attack has given rise to rumors that the Goblin Gang, previously led by mundanes, has been taken over by a super villain. The fact that they survived the police response after their attack on Hollywood, and that they had the guts to try such an attack in the first place, certainly suggests this is true. Tensions between the Family and the Goblin Gang had been rising for some time even before the Iron Master used his false flag attacks to agitate them into a full-blown turf war. The Family are the local mafia. They have a strong belief in family, a vague sense of honor among criminals, and carry themselves with a sense of class and professionalism even as they rule with fear and violence. Their dress tends strongly towards business suits and trench coats, though their grunts often just wear blue collar casual clothes. A recent regime change after the passing of the last godfather has seen them cleaning house a bit. They specialize in extortion, naturally, and have suppressed most of the police precincts in their area. Though they do not have any super villains directly a part of their organization, they have enough money to regularly employ the services of Dead Eye, and also formerly employed Strike before she was killed by Swordsman in the Harbor City battle. Tensions between the Family and the Goblin Gang were rising for a while before the Iron Master sent things over the edge and started a war. The Ronin are led by Damyo Okata, a super villain who claims to have received his powers from intense training and mystical eastern medicine. Many suspect that the truth is he's just a metahuman who delusionally ascribes superhuman abilities he would've gained anyway to a bunch of acupuncture sessions. Regardless, the Ronin specialize in hookers, using the human trafficking industry back in Asia to supply them with cheap whores. Though their trappings of honor and eastern mysticism might make one expect exotic dress, they have no particular uniform besides being violent Asians, and usually wear normal street clothes. Their samurai are some of the most competent combatants in the city and their shinobi are likewise some of the sneakiest. If not for the steep costs of their powerful sets and the reckless leadership of the Damyo, the Ronin would likely have been contenders along with the Family and Chimera for most feared gang in the city. The Ronin have a rivalry with the Santos Espada that often ends in bloodshed. The Santos Espada are a hispanic gang whose leadership is primarily made up of those who actively worship Santa Muerte, the Mexican Saint Death. Their most feared members are the zealots who seek to feed her their enemies, especially the Ronin, whom they have a long rivalry with. The Santos Espada specialize in extortion and despite their supposed devotion to Mexico, they're terribly eager to rob all the other immigrants in Eastside. Maybe the ones outside the gang aren't Mexican enough for them. Regardless, they're one of the more violent gangs in the city, giving even the Hounds and Stalkers a run for their money in raw aggression. Their dress is mostly in common street clothes, though they take a few cues from the thug life wardrobe of the Hounds and Stalkers and bandanas are almost ubiquitous. No super villains are known to run the gang, but Asrael has been known to employ their services from time to time. Chimera has risen to become the most powerful gang in the city. A terrorist organization founded in central and eastern Europe decades ago, they are unlike the other gangs in the city in that they are but one small branch of a larger organization. Their sets are not franchises of a loose alliance of street criminals, but divisions of a military that has fought national governments and won. They specialize in arms dealing and are themselves the most heavily armed and armored gang in the city, and are no doubt working on making Projects Photon and Aegis, which they stole from EdenTech, into state-of-the-art weapons and armor for their troops. They also have a cloaking aircraft which they're working on adding weapons to, a project that will likely bear fruit in the near future. They have no particular uniform, but their ubiquitous body armor makes them stick out from other gangs when they're in the field and the professional and military manner in which they carry themselves further distinguishes them from common criminals. Chimera is utterly ruthless, and has bombed Compton and unleashed chemical weapons in Downtown in order to further their ambitions, but they aren't extremely aggressive either, mostly just quietly stealing any interesting developments from various companies' headquartered in their turf at Long Beach. They have not expanded since they seized the turf upon their arrival, even though several border gangs would no doubt prove easy pickings for their incredible power. Perhaps they're worried about drawing police heat or uniting other gangs against them. They do not have the direct support of any known super villains in the city, but Dead Eye and formerly Strike work for them as often as the Family, and their international contacts means that they could likely pull in multiple villains on a whim. Category:Setting